SB 1528 did NOT expand in-state tuition for illegal immigrants or international students, it REPEALED part of the international student portion of the in-state tuition bill that unfortunately passed in 2001 BEFORE Lt. Governor Dewhurst was elected Lt. Governor. The only expansion in the bill was for US citizens. It only expanded in-state tuition to students who are both Citizens and residents of Texas whose parents move out of state while they are in college or live with grandparents or other family members that never went to court for legal custody.

Sources:

“The 79th Texas Legislature further amended the residency requirements in 2005 through the passage of Senate Bill 1528. The additional amendments maintained the 36-month pathway for non-U.S. Citizens, but extended it to all U.S. citizens. Prior to these amendments, many U.S. Citizens were inadvertently prevented from attaining Texas residency status because of unanticipated circumstances.For example, students born and raised in Texas but whose parents moved out of state before they had enrolled in college were previously classified as nonresidents unless they had enrolled in college prior to their parents’ departure. Additionally, students raised by grandparents or other family members who had never gone to court to acquire legal custody were considered residents of the state in which their parents lived. Current statutes allow students in both of these cases, and other similar circumstances, to qualify for Texas resident status.” (“Overview: Eligibility For In-State Tuition And State Financial Aid Programs,”Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board, 10/13)

“It’s correct that the cited 2005 action revised the 2001 law, partly to benefit legal U.S. residents. But these changes did not give or create the tuition benefit. If lawmakers had simply rejected the 2005 proposal, for instance, the tuition benefit would have stayed in place. It was years old.” (“Conservative PAC says Larry Taylor gave in-state tuition to illegal immigrants,”Politifact, 5/25/12)

“The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) estimates there is only one group of students on which the bill will have a significant impact. Those are international students who are currently eligible through 54.057(a), Education Code, for treatment as US permanent residents as soon as they have submitted their initial petition for residency to the Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS). The proposed statutes would have such students’ eligibility for residency rely on Coordinating Board rules, which can be flexible in tracking changes in BCIS policies. THECB anticipates the rules will concur with policies followed prior to statutory changes in 2001.” “It will save a total of $2.8 million per year in general revenue funds for students dropping out of universities and students attending but paying full nonresident tuition at universities.” (John S. O’Brien, “SB 1528 Fiscal Note,”Legislative Budget Board, 5/26/05)

SB 309 did not expand health care to illegal immigrants. Hospitals, including hospitals owned by hospital districts, are already mandated to provide services to illegal immigrants by the federal government not the State of Texas.

In 1986, President Ronald Reagan signed into law the federal Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, which mandated that all hospitals provide emergency care to all, regardless of citizenship. SB 309 gave locally elected officials the flexibility to offer the same services in lower cost settings, such as clinic, as a way to save taxpayer funding and to relieve emergency room congestions.